Apparatus for feeding metal plates



Nov. 5, 1935; A. HORMEL APPARATUS FOR FEEDING METAL PLATES 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1934 ATTORNEY INVENTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A.HORMEL APPARATUS FOR' FEEDING METAL PLATES Filed Nov. 8, 1954 Nov. 5,1935.

\ INVENTOR /4 /az s ai 4 a conveyor which transports them to some otherUNITED STATES Patented Nov. 5, 1935 orFicE This invention relates to amechanism for feeding or delivering sheets of metal of the generalcharacter shown in my Patent No. 1,914,806, dated June 2, 1933. Theobject of the invention is to provide a means for automaticallysupporting and feeding relatively large metallic sheets to an improvedturning or rotating device which engages and rotates the sheets to aposition at right angles to that which they occupied when fed to theturning means, and then feeds them to apparatus.

The sheets of metal fed by my improved feeding means are usually largerectangular metal sheets which are received upon a conveyor and aremoved by the same to a table or similar support. When the sheet reachesthe support it is lifted a slight distance above the same by suctionmeans and while in such raised position it is rotated about a verticalaxis to a position at right angles to that which it initially occupiedon the conveyor. After being rotated, the sheet is lowered, and thesuction exerted through the suction means is released, thus freeing thesheet. An aligning device then operates to properly position the sheetfor reception by a conveyor by which it is carried away to drying meansor to other mechanisms which operate upon it. More specifically, theinvention relates to the suction meansby which the plate is elevated,rotated and then lowered, and to the aligning means operating inconjunction with the suction means, by which the rotated sheet isstraightened for delivery to the conveyor.

In the embodiment of my invention disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings, Fig. 1 is a plan View of a feeding and sheet-rotatingmechanism constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is asectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is. a sectional view onv the line4.4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction ofthe arrows; and Fig. 5,v is asectional View on the line 55 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of thearrows.

In the drawings, It indicates a table or other similar support mountedupon a frame mainly composed of the vertical legs H suitably braced andconnected by the frame elements l2 and !3.

At. 31 is shown a shaft mounted in bearings 32 and carrying sprockets 33over which extend the parallel conveyor chains il and 3 5 whichtransport the metal. sheets. at, to the table It] where they are engagedby suction means, elevated,

swung to a position at right angles to that in which they were received,then lowered and straightened by aligning means, and then, delivered tobelts 3? on which they are shifted by a pair of chains 3% which movethem off to other 5. mechanisms or to drying means.

The conveyor chains 34? and 35 are driven from any suitable source ofpower and these chains each carry lugs ll? which act against the edge ofone of the metal plates to force the plate along toward the table it?and finally deliver it thereon.

The table i6 is provided with a central opening 6! within which islocated a fixed disk 42 of smaller diameter than the opening, so that anannular space 53 is formed between the periphery of the disk and theedge of the opening. The disk 42 is secured by the screw M'to the upperend of a vertical shaft t5 which is pinned at 46 near its lower end in ahousing 'i secured to the lower end of a boss d8 extending downwardlyfrom a bearing 6i] on the frame member l3. The vertical shaft as is afixed member and is surrounded by a rotatable sleeve 49 supported at itslower end in a thrust bearing 53 mounted in the boss 48. A bushing allis located between the upper end of the sleeve G9 and the disk 42, asclearly shown in Fig. 3.

At 52 is a gear which is keyed at 53 on the sleeve 52, said gear meshingwith a gear 5 3 fixed on a drive shaft 55 journalled at its ends insuitable bearings, one of which is shown at 56 in Fig. 3', and drivenfrom a source of power.

Through this arrangement, it will be seen that the sleeve 69 isconstantly rotated about the stationary shaft 45'. Secured near theupper end of 35, the shaft by the key 5? is a spider 58 which has itscentral hub ts slotted to receive the key 5i. The spider is capable ofvertical movement on, the sleeve it but rotates with the sleeve.v Anouter non-'rotative member iii surrounds the spider 58 and the member 6!has its upper cupshaped portion acting as a seat for the similar upperportion of the spider 53. A gasket 62 is interposed between thecup-shaped portions of the members 58 and ti to produce a seal betweenthem, and the seal is further assured by means of the liquid 53contained in the cup-shaped portion of the member Bi. The under side ofthe spider 58' is provided with a groove t l which registers andco-operates with a similar groove 65 provided in the upper surface ofthe member SE, to form an air passage through which suction is exerted.The. spider Si is provided with three radially extending hollow arms $5,each of which is provided with a port 67 opening at its outer end 55,

through the nipple 68 surrounded by a rubber suction cup 69. The innerend of the port 61 communicates with the air passage composed of theco-operating groves 64 and 65 (Fig. 2), which air passage communicateswith a port 10, connecting with a nipple 15, secured to a section offiexible tubing 12. As shown in Fig. 2, the flexible tubing 12communicates with the interior of a valve housing 13, having a chamber14 within which a valve 15 is vertically movable. Leading from thechamber 14 is a port 16 from which extends a flexible tube 11 connectedto a suitable suction pump. The valve 15 has a stem 18 on which a collar19 is secured, which receives the upward thrust of the coil spring 80.The coil spring normally thrusts the valve 15 upward to keep the port 15closed, thereby connecting the tube 12 with an exhaust opening 8|. Whenthe valve is in its normal raised position under the impulse of thespring 80, no suction is exerted through the tube 12 and its connectedpassages.

The means for intermittently depressing the valve 15 consists of a bellcrank cam lever pivoted at 82, and having an arm 83 resting on thecollar 19 as shown in Fig. 2. The other arm 84 of the lever carries acam roller 85 which rests against the cam 86 secured on the drive shaft55. At the proper time the arm 83 is depressed, under the impulse of thecam 86, which causes it to exert downward pressure on the collar 19against the pressure of the spring 80, causing the valve 15 to belowered to close the outlet opening 8| and permit communication betweenthe tube 12 and the suction pump to which tube 11 is connected. When thevalve 15 is so lowered, suction exerted by the pump will be operativethrough the tube 12, nipple 1|, port 10, passages 64 and 65, and port61, so that a metal sheet 36, with which the suction cups are then incontact, will be held by said suction cups and rotated.

The rotating spider 58 and vertically movable member 6| are raised andlowered together as a unit by means of a pair of arms 81 secured upon ashaft 88 rotatable in the lugs I20 on bearing 60 and have their outerends engaging beneath pins 89 secured in and projecting inwardly fromlugs 90 formed on the lower end of the member 6|. The shaft 88 alsocarries a cam lever 9| provided with a roller 92, resting against thecam 93 secured on the drive shaft 55. Through this arrangement, thespider 58 and member 6| are raised together as a unit with the spiderrotating within member 6|, and the suction cups are moved upward throughthe annular opening 43 in the table to bring said cups into contact withthe under face of the sheet 36 then resting upon the table to slightlyraise the sheet therefrom. Sheet 36 in its raised position is shown inFigs. 2 and 3, where it will be seen that it is then wholly supported bythe suction cups 69 at a slight distance above the upper surface of thetable I0. After the sheet has been raised to the elevated positionshownin Figs. 2 and 3 and swung, by rotation of the spider 58, to aposition at right angles to that in which it was carried to the tableI0, the spider 58 is lowered, bringing the sheet to rest upon the tableand lugs on the chains 94 engage it and deliver it to the conveyorchains 39 and supporting belts 31 on which it is carried away.

Before being delivered to the conveyor chains 39 and rails 31, the sheetis straightened or aligned by means of an aligning device shown indetail in Fig. 4. It consists of a pair of slides I and NI,simultaneously movable to and from one The slide I09 is provided with adownwardly extending arm I04 which has its lower end pivotally connectedto one end of a link I05 having its 0pposite end attached to the end ofa crank arm I06 secured to the upper end of a shaft I01, mounted in abearing I08 supported on frame 10 member I3. The lower end of the shaftI01 is provided with a gear I 09 which meshes with and is driven by thegear 54 on the drive shaft 55. The crank I06 is provided with anextension IIO which has its end connected to a link III connecting witha downwardly extending arm II2 on the slide IOI. By rotation of theshaft I01, the slides IOI are moved toward one another to contact withthe edges of and straighten or align the sheet 36 and they then separateor move away from one another permitting the sheet to be engaged by theconveyor chains 39 and moved away thereby.

Briefly, the operation of the apparatus is as follows: A metal sheet tobe fed is carried by the chains 34 and 35 along suitable supportingrails until it reaches the table I0 where it is received in the positionindicated at 39a in Fig. 1. It is then ready to be swung to a positionat right angles to that in which it is brought to rest upon the table,its position after rotation being indicated at 39b. When the sheetreaches the table, the spider 58 is elevated by means of the arms 88 tobring the suction cups 69 into contact with the under side of the sheet.When the suction cups 98 contact with the sheet 36, the arm 83 isdepressed and this lowers the valve 15 causing suction to be exertedthrough the cups 69 so that they securely hold the sheet. As upwardmove- 40 ment of the spider continues, the sheet is lifted from thesurface of the table to the raised position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, andthe rotary movement of the spider 58 causes the sheet to be swung abouta vertical axis until it reaches the position indicated by 391), bywhich time the spider 58 has descended and suction through cups 69 hasceased. The aligning device, consisting of the slides I00 and IOI andassociated parts, are then moved toward one another to align orstraighten the plate. The chains 94 move the plate to the right in Fig.1, until it is received on the chains 39 and belts 31 which carry itaway. It will be understood that the various mechanisms herein describedare suitably synchronized so that the sheets are speedily fed to thetable, lifted, rotated about a vertical axis, lowered and engaged by thechains 94 and moved thereby to chains 39 which carry them away.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for feeding metal plates comprising, means for receivingand conveying a plate, a support to which the plate is moved by theconveying means and on top of which the plate is brought to rest, thesupport being provided with an opening, suction means located below thesupport for engaging the plate when the plate is received on the supportand raising the plate therefrom, means for rotating the suction means tocause the plate engaged thereby to be rotated to a position at an angleto that occupied by it when being conveyed, and means for raising andlowering the suction means.

2. An apparatus for feeding metal plates comprising, means for receivingand conveying a plate, a support to which the plate is moved by theconveying means, suction means below the support, and means for raisingthe suction means to cause it to pneumatically engage the under side ofthe plate on the support and lift the plate therefrom, means forrotating said suction means when the plate is elevated, and means forlowering the suction means to bring the plate down on the table in aposition at right angles to that occupied by it before being lifted fromthe table by the suction means.

3. An apparatus for feeding metal plates comprising, means for receivingand conveying a plate, a support to which the plate is moved by theconveying means, suction means below the support, means for raising thesuction means to cause it to pneumatically engage the under side of theplate on the support and lift the plate therefrom, means for rotatingsaid suction means when the plate is elevated, means for lowering thesuction means to bring the plate down on the table in a position atright angles to that occupied by it before being lifted from the tableby the suction means, and aligning means for engaging the edges of theplate after it has been moved about its axis, to align the plate.

4. An apparatus, for feeding metal plates comprising, means forconveying a plate, a support to which the plate is moved by theconveying means, rotating suction means, the support having an annularopening, means for raising the suction means upwardly through saidopening to cause said means to: pneumatically engage the under face ofthe plate and raise said plate from the surface of the support, andmeans for rotating the suction means to cause the plate engaged therebyto be rotated with the suction means to a position at right 'angles tothat oc- 6. An apparatus for feeding sheet metal plates 10 comprising, atable to which a plate is fed, said table having an annular opening, asuction device rotatably mounted below the table and having suction armsterminating in cups movable upwardly through the opening topneumatically 15 engage the under face of a plate located on the table,means for intermittently exerting suction through the arms and cups,means for intermittently raising and lowering the arms and cups,-

and means for engaging and aligning the plate 20 after it has beenraised, rotated and lowered by the suction arms and cups.

'7. An apparatus for feeding sheet metal plates comprising, a tableformed with an opening, ro-

tatable suction means below the table provided 25 with suction elementsin registration with said opening, means for moving said suctionelements upwardly through the opening and above the upper surface of thetable, means for rotating said suction means, and means for loweringsaid 30 suction elements through the opening.

8. An apparatus of the character described comprising a table formedwith an opening, a suction device and means for rotating the same, meanson said suction device in registration with the opening, means forintermittently exerting suction through the suction device, and meansfor intermittently raising and lowering the suction device, said meansraising parts of said suction device above the upper surface of thetable at the limit of its upward movement.

AUGUST HORMEL.

